1. Field of the Invention
The presents invention generally relates to a three-dimensional virtual space information processing apparatus, a three-dimensional virtual space information processing method, and a medium for providing a three-dimensional virtual space information processing program. More particularly, the present invention relates to a three-dimensional virtual space information processing apparatus, a three-dimensional virtual space information processing method, and a medium for providing a three-dimensional virtual space information processing program that, when an avatar moving in a three-dimensional virtual space collides against a predetermined object, present in an easy-to-understand manner the collision situation of the avatar by making an alert corresponding to a collision portion of the avatar.
2. Description of Related Art
A cyberspace service named Habitat (trademark) is known in the so-called personal computer communications services such as NIFTY-Serve (trademark) of Japan and CompuServe (trademark) of US in which a plurality of users connect their personal computers via modems and public telephone network to the host computers installed at the centers of the services to access them in predetermined protocols.
Development of Habitat started in 1985 by Lucas Film of the US, operated by Quantum Link, one of US commercial networks, for about three years. Then, Habitat started its service in NIFTY-Serve as Fujitsu Habitat (trademark) in February 1990. In Habitat, users can send their alter egos called avatars (the incarnation of a god figuring in the Hindu mythology) into a virtual city called Populopolis drawn by two-dimensional graphics to have a chat (namely, a realtime conversation based on text entered and displayed) with each other. For further details of Habitat, refer to the Japanese translation of xe2x80x9cCyberspace: First Steps,xe2x80x9d Michael Benedikt, ed., 1991, MIT Press Cambridge, Mass., ISBN0-262-02327-X, the translation being published Mar. 20, 1994, by NTT Publishing, ISBN4-87188-265-9C0010, pp. 282-307.
However, in the related art cyberspace system, a virtual street, a virtual room interior, and the like are drawn in two-dimensional graphics. In such an environment, movement of an avatar backward or forward is realized simply by moving it up or down in a two-dimensional background, providing poor representation for enabling the user to experience walk or movement in the virtual space. Because this scheme makes the user look at the virtual space in which the user""s avatar and another user""s avatar are shown from the viewpoint of a third person, the sense of pseudo experience is marred to a large extent.
To solve these problems, a capability that displays a virtual space in three-dimensional graphics and allows the user to freely walk with the viewpoint of the avatar in the displayed three-dimensional space is implemented by use of a three-dimensional graphics data description language called VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 9-81781. Details of VRML are disclosed in the Japanese translation of xe2x80x9cVRML: Browsing and Building Cyberspace,xe2x80x9d Mark Pesce, 1995, New Readers Publishing, ISBN 1-56205-498-8, the translation being entitled xe2x80x9cGetting to Know VRML: Building and Browsing Three-Dimensional Cyberspace,xe2x80x9d translated by Kouichi Matsuda, Terunao Gamachi, Shouichi Takeuchi, Yasuaki Honda, Junichi Rekimoto, Masayuki Ishikawa, Takeshi Miyashita and Kazuhiro Hara, published Mar. 25, 1996, Prenticehall Publishing, ISBN4-931356-37-0 and xe2x80x9cRecent Trends of VRML And CyberPassage,xe2x80x9d by Kouichi Matsuda and Yasuaki Honda, The xe2x80x9cbitxe2x80x9d Magazine, Kyoritsu Publising, 1996 (Vol. 28, No. 7, pp. 29 through 36, No. 8, pp. 57 through 65, No. 9, pp. 29 through 36, No. 10, pp. 49 through 58) for example.
The official and complete specifications of xe2x80x9cThe Virtual Reality Modeling Language Version 2.0, ISO/IEC CD 14772xe2x80x9d are published on the Internet.
VRML 2.0, the latest version of VRML, claims that it can describe and represent the autonomous behavior of an object in a three-dimensional virtual space. Therefore, when walking around with a viewpoint of an avatar in a virtual space represented by three-dimensional graphics in a browser for VRML 2.0, namely a three-dimensional virtual space, a user of that avatar can have a sensation as if he or she is actually in that space.
For the above-mentioned VRML 2.0 browser and the software for a shared server, xe2x80x9cCommunity Place (trademark) Browser/Bureauxe2x80x9d has been developed and commercialized by Sony Corporation, the applicant hereof. Its beta version (namely the test version) can be downloaded from Sony""s Internet home page.
Referring to FIG. 14, there is illustrated an example of a three-dimensional virtual space as displayed in a related-art VRML browser (hereafter simply referred to as a browser). As shown, if an avatar being navigated by its user in the three-dimensional space displayed in the browser collides against a fixed object 301 simulating a billboard, for example arranged in the virtual space, a frame indicative of the collision is displayed on the four sides of the display area of the browser (the frame hereafter referred to as an alert frame). At the same time, an artificial collision sound (an alert sound) is generated. Thus, the user is alerted that the avatar collided against the fixed object 301.
However, the provision of this alert frame alone presents a problem of making it difficult for the user to understand a situation in which an avatar collides against an object not appearing in the avatar""s visibility range, or the browser display area. This situation includes, for example, that the avatar being navigated with its viewpoint directed upward (the browser display area set upward) collides against an object simulating a stone (this object currently not appearing in the browser display range) lying at a foot of the avatar and cannot move forward any further and that the avatar being navigated backward (the browser display area set forward) collides at its back against an object simulating a building wall (this object not appearing in the browser display range) and cannot move backward any further.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-understand presentation of a situation in which an avatar collides against an object in a three-dimensional virtual space.
A three-dimensional virtual space information processing apparatus comprises a detecting means for detecting, if an avatar collides against an object in a three-dimensional virtual space, the colliding node of the avatar and an alerting means for providing an alert corresponding to the colliding node detected by the detecting means.
A three-dimensional virtual space information processing method comprises the steps of detecting, if an avatar collides against an object in a three-dimensional virtual space, the colliding node of the avatar and outputting an alert corresponding to the colliding node detected by the detecting step.
A program providing medium provides a computer program comprising the steps of detecting, if an avatar collides against an object in a three-dimensional virtual space, the colliding node of the avatar and outputting an alert corresponding to the colliding node detected by the detecting step.
In the three-dimensional virtual space information processing apparatus described in claim 1, the three-dimensional virtual space information processing method, and the program providing medium, if an avatar collides against a predetermined object, the colliding node of the avatar is detected and an alert corresponding to the colliding node is provided by means of an alert frame and an alert sound for example.